Just resturned with reviews (and some pics)

[gatorgirl2]

Hope everyone is well. Been back a week from a wonderful WDW trip. We were not on the dining plan and only made three ADR's because we like to freestyle it. Also, we had a full kitchen at our villa at SSR, so we mainly grabbed breakfast bars and juice on our way out the door in the morning. We snack during the day and like to have a nice dinner.

Cast of characters:

Me-My only food requests-a cup of coffee in the morning and a waiter at night (with preferably a good wine list)
DS13- Tanner will try alomost everything
DS17-Matthew will hardly try anything (grrr)
DSF14-Tanner's friend Dylan- Loves to eat--especially when someone else is paying.:rotfl2:

Restaurants reviewed-Chefs de France, Yak & Yeti, Rainforest, Chef Mickeys, and Biergarten, along with alot of snacking on the way!!:banana:

And the awards go to........

Chefs de France- "biggest disappointment" award
Yak & Yeti - "best surprise" award
Rainforest DTD - "consistently average" award and kids' favorite!
Chef Mickeys - "waitress dropped the ball" award
Biergarten - "always a good time" award


:cool1:

The culinary journey got off to a bumpy start. The first night was Dominos delivery at 1:00 AM. I'll spare you the review, but at 1:00AM, when you haven't eaten since lunch (why didn't I eat those Cheez Nips on the plane???:confused3 it actually tasted pretty good.

Our plane touched down at 9:30 PM but we didn't get to the resort until 12:00 midnight- Had to wait 45 minutes at airport for ME, plus dropped off at three other resorts first.

So here we go...Chefs de France first....

[CJ]

I'm here !! popcorn::

Can't wait for the Yak & Yeti review!!

[Camster0307]

I'm in!

Interested to hear what was wrong with Chefs de France - we're trying it for the first time in about two weeks!

[gatorgirl2]

First of all, I have to apologize for some of the pictures. Our camera was misbehaving the first two days--lots of glare and back light. I'll try to compensate with words!!

I've always wanted to try Chefs de France and this was the year! I was not going to give in to the pleas of the boys for Japanese or Chinese (which we can get anytime at home). I also like to practice my French on the staff-Parisian French with a southern accent-ha they could see right through it, but they played along nicely. The boys were relaxing in a little play area next to Chefs, while I checked on the ressie.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday1056.jpg


They could take us right away.

The service was wonderful. Our waitress was attentive and helpful. (Sidebar: Everywhere we went, they first asked if we were on the dining plan. When we said "no" they seemed very pleased. Hmmm)

We asked for an appetizer suggestion and she recommended the Tarte a la Flame Alsacienne - Alsace specialty. It's flatbread baked with cream fraiche, onion and bacon ($8.50) Sounded like a fancy pizza to me, and after having Dominos at 1:00 AM that morning, I wasn't too eager to have a pizza at a French restaurant, but the boys seemed interested, so we ordered it.

Plus, I had taken my first sip of Chardonnay so all was right with the world..:cool1: The tarte was wonderful--light and tasty, with white cheese carmelized onions and bacon on top. Yum. This, along with a salad would make a great lunch.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday1058.jpg

My "picky" son ordered the roasted chicken. He actually liked it. Very tender and tasty, but didn't fill him up, since he wouldn't eat the tomato or mashed potatoes.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday1062.jpg

Dylan ordered the duck. I thought it was tender and juicy, as well, and the sweet potatoes were AMAZING.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday1063.jpg

Tanner ordered the $18 Mac and cheese. Not sure why "Mr. Exotic" ordered M&C, but the dish was bland and uneventful--very average and way over-priced IMHO. The picture we took for the mac didn't even turn out!
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday1061.jpg

I ordered the scallops and shrimp. Here is the picture. Don't blink or you'll miss the entree. I think there was one scallop and two shrimp. Time to start that diet!!:

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday1060.jpg

We skipped dessert and I think the bill was $160. The menu was just so limited. The worst thing was, the boys were still hungry, so we left to check out the school bread at Norway.

By the time we got back to the resort, and the boys swam, they were starving--luckily there was left over pizza and hot wings!!:worship:

I might try the restaurant again, but not with teens. Not enough selection for them. Up next Yak & Yeti.......

[TigerKat]

We tried Chefs for the first time last trip and really enjoyed it. In fact I had the duck dish and DH had the shrimp & scallop dish, both were very good.:goodvibes

I wish we could have tried the Alsacienne flatbread, it looks so good!

[iluvpluto27]

Sorry you didn't enjoy Chefs. I've been twice and enjoyed it both times, but DH had the mac and cheese the first time and he found it bland too. The rest of the meal was good though.

[MickeyNicki]

Cannot wait to hear about Yak and Yeti, we are trying it for the first time in less than 2 weeks!

[toyman70]

what camera did you use? why are all the picture orange, you weren't shooting through a orange were you:rotfl2:

[gatorgirl2]

Can't explain the camera. I think it did some shifting on the flight..:confused3

The reason Yak & Yeti's gets the "biggest surprise" award is because we didn't have an ADR there. We went to Animal Kingdom on our second full day. As mentioned above, we usually just snack during the day. However, we got so much done during the morning, we wanted to relax for a bit--rode all our favorites 2-3 times each--Expedition Everest was only a 20 minute wait!! And the Primeval Twirl (aka Primeval Hurl) had our stomachs rumbling for stable food.

We were contemplating a break as we were walking by Yak & Yeti's. We decided just to see if we could get in. My mouth dropped when the hostess said they could seat us right away--at 12:30--right in the middle of the lunch hour. The boys didn't appreciate our getting in without an ADR and it would have taken too long to explain it to them..so we embraced our good luck and were seated in this cool, dark, cozy restaurant. (ZZZZZZZZZ)

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/the-outside-of-the-yak.jpg

We decided to just order some appetizers (so it's still officially just a snack-:lmao: ). We ordered the wok fried green beans, pot stickers, lettuce wraps and egg rolls. My picky son ordered a bowl of steamed rice--his fave dish.
The waiter was great and helped us decide on these selections.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/friedgreenbeans-1.jpg

The green beans were similar to those at TGIFriday's except the outside seasoning was a little different. I refuse to accept that both come from the same institutional food company, so I'm sticking with the fact that Y&Y's are unique. The sauce was more of a sweet and sour type, but superior to your average Chinese restaurant duck sauce. My kids said they preferred the wasabi sauce that TGIFridays serves with their beans, but this sauce was delicious, nonetheless. The serving size was generous.

The egg rolls were very fresh and crisp--much better than the ones they sell in China at Epcot. They give you three large rolls. My oldest doesn't like egg rolls, so we each got one. I think the sauce was about the same on all of the appetizers, with only slight variations. It seemed to coat the pot stickers, as well. The waiter recommended the pot stickers and they were a good balance of tangy and sweet. But our favorite was the lettuce cups...

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/lettucecups.jpg


The filling (probably pork) was so delicious with the sauce folded into the butter lettuce. The portion was ample; I don't think we even finished it all.


This was a wonderful one-hour break from the heat and walking. We will obviously add this stop on future trips--only next time I'll make an ADR--don't think I'll get that lucky in the future.

$50 was an expensive snack, but worth every penny. We exited from Yak & Yeti's refreshed and ready to search out the "tree lady" and those Safari animals!!

[CJ]

Thanks so much for this review! I was planning on ordering just appetizers for us as well, and they sound just great!!::yes::

[candykisses]

I enjoyed your reviews.

We'll be leaving in 10 days and I think I'll try the Yak & Yeti.

[TigerKat]

:dance3: :yay: :dance3: This is exactly what we plan on ordering when we stop for our "snack".;)

[jacksmom]

Thanks for sharing your reviews! We will be trying Yak & Yeti in July!:cool1:

[annie1995]

Loving your reviews so far!!! Can't wait for more!!!

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Great reviews, thanks!!

[mom2my3kids]

Love your reviews!!Can't wait to read more..

[wilma-bride]

Shame you didn't enjoy Chefs. Yak and Yeti sounds good though - this place is getting increasingly good reviews lately.

[SassyLassy]

Hopefully you'll have better luck next time with Chefs. I have always had a great experience there!

[Disneyof3]

Great reviews!! Can't wait for more. That is too bad about your camera. It looks like it got water in it???

[gatorgirl2]

Review #3

After our great day at Animal Kingdom, we headed back to the resort for a power nap. We then headed over to DTD /Marketplace on the ferry. We loved being able to take the ferry from SSR all week. That amenity alone, will probably keep me gong back to SSR or OKW

Rainforest is one of our Disney traditions--we always go on the night we arrive at Disney to kick off the trip. However, since it took so long to get to the resort on Sunday night, we missed our ressie. We have a RC here in Nashville, but the boys will only go when we're at WDW, as to not spoil the magic. I never have high expectations for the quality of food, but we know we'll never get a BAD meal. This was the first time we've voluntarily gone on a different night, but my son's friend had never been to RC, so...off we went.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/RC1.jpg

We stopped by the hostess stand at around 5:00 PM to see if we could make a ressie for later, with the intention of heading to DisneyQuest to play for a few hours. She said we couldn't make a reservation on the same day, but said that there wasn't much of a wait, so we should be able to come back later and get right in...NOT.

So we headed to DQ. I don't last long there because so many of the games make me motion sick. :sick: We stayed there awhile, then I ditched out to get our name on the list at RC. Now (8:00) there was a 90-minute wait! The hostess said if we wanted to eat on the back porch, she could probably seat us in 15 minutes. My son's friend had never been to Rainforest so I really wanted to sit inside. Conference time. I called the boys at DQ, and they said they were starving (too long since our Y&Y snack??) So they left DQ for RC and I picked up a margarita from the Margarita Bar (executive decision), which is located at the dock on Lake Beuna Vista. $8 for a top shelf--not too bad. It was great. All was right with the world again.:cool1: They also have other drinks, and chairs on the deck to relax.

Back at RC, we were seated promptly on the porch and we quickly ordered the Big Blue Crab Delight ($10). Matt & Tanner ordered the Caribbean Coconut Shrimp ($20), Dillon ordered a shrimp comdo that was on a "promotional" menu, and I ordered Pastalaya-- (shrimp, sauteed chicken breast, bell peppers, onions and Andouille sausage tossed in a hot and spicy Cajun sauce and served over linguini $19.99) My son took his friend in to see all the animal action, since we were seated outside (hard to impress a teenager but Dillon said it was "pretty neat"). I'm glad we opted for the quick seating on the porch. The weather was wonderful--75 with a nice breeze!! It had lots of ceiling fans to boot. We had a great time enjoying the view and watching the ducks--"good move, Mom".


It took the appetizer 30 minutes to arrive--it looked like it had been nuked a couple of times to keep warm. Instead of bubbly and steamy, the appetizer was stale and the cheese topping was dry and crackly. I spared you the pic!!The server was apologetic, but not sorry enough to make it right. By now, our stomachs were growling so the chips were even looking good. Worse yet, our dinner arrived two minutes later. It rescued us from the appetizer, but the server gave a HARD GLARE to the kitchen help that brought out the meals. I never ask or expect freebies in a restaurant but I personally felt the server should have removed the appetizer from our bill. The Southerner in me didn't want to push the issue or worse yet, embarass my children."Oh that's OK, we love our appetizer late, cold and in unison with our meal--hee hee"


My boys loved the coconut shrimp. They get it every year. The mango sauce is sweet, tangy and fruity. It comes with a slaw that is OUTSTANDING--light and unique--good balance between sweet and tart. I think Dillon lked his shrimp. It was gone lickity split. (You can never accuse Dillon of wasting food). My pasta dish was really good for RC. The sauce was zesty and the portion was huge. I had to take half of it to go.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/pastalaya.jpg

Bill was around $135 (tip included). I only tipped 15%. If the server had removed the appetizer, I would have tipped 20%. (passive aggression :rotfl2: )

The RC in DTD is fun--bottom line. It's great for kids--especially small ones. The menu is SO VAST--pages of options. Everyone in the group is going to find something they like. It may not be the best burger or Mahi mahi you ever had, but I feel the quality is consistent with most of the Disney restaurants offering table service. Portions are ample--nobody wanted a dessert. If you asked my boys, they would say it was twice as good as Chefs de France. :confused3

We strolled around Marketplace and over to Ghiradelli after RC and got some chocolate squares for the ferry ride home--walked past McDonalds--oblivous to what was in store for us the following night--we would be begging to come into McDonalds and buy their fast food the next night--anyway great ending to great day!!

BTW. They are adding a T-rex restaurant at DTD--over by Legoland. I think it will be opening in the fall '08. Just a head's up for all those families with dino lovers!!

I'll try to add pcs later. My golden retriever wants to get to the puppy park before dark.

[SunnieRN]

Really enjoying your reviews! Thank you! Hope the puppy had fun at the park!

[whogirl'smom]

Great reviews! We are going OOP next time, too, so the costs are very helpful!

[gatorgirl2]

Funny story, I was at the puppy park with my golden, when I met a new family there. They had just returned from Disney too. We soon discovered that we had both stayed at the Springs at SSR. Their 2 bdr villa was right above ours!! It's a small world. :rolleyes1

Before my Chef Mickey review, I wanted to give a word of warning on a situation we ran into on our third night. We always go to Hollywood Studios, but it is our least favorite of the four parks. We never know when we'll fit it in because we normally don't spend more than half-2/3 of a day there (two trips on TT and RRC are plenty for my stomach)

Anyway, after spending the morning/early afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon, we headed to HS. They had EMH that night. We have never done EMH in all the years we've gone to Disney--we were always too pooped at the end of the day to attend. We thought that would be a good opportunity to stay and do more, since this would be our only trip to HS. We hadn't made any ADR's because we hadn't planned on being there that day. I didn't realize that most every food vendor shuts down during EMH. :confused3 We hadn't eaten since lunch at Typhoon Lagoon. At 10:20PM our stomachs really started to growl. Despite the temptation to stay and ride the new Toy Story Mania some more (BTW IT ROCKS!!) we decided to head back to the resort and find some food.

By the time ge got back, the Artist's Pallete had closed. Having mainly breakfast bars and snacks in the room, our search soon became desperate. We immediately hopped on a bus for DTD, but with all the stops the bus made at SSR, we arrived at Marketplace at 11:03PM.. We ran to Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgagng Express to get ANYTHING, but they were closing. Our only hope was McDonald's because they stayed open later. I've never appreciated McDonald's so much in my life. We greased out with NO COMPLAINTS.:banana:

On with my next review--Chef Mickey's. It was my older son's 18th birthday that day. He had requested Chef Mickey's for breakfast and Biergarten for dinner--our family Disney traditions. When I made the ADR, I mentioned the birthday. They even had it stamped on our receipt, which we took to the table--but that was it.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday4002.jpg


Chef Mickey's is an expensive breakfast. Our bill for four was $126 What you are paying for is the photo opportunity with the main characters. Years ago, you would see many different characters, but now, it's just the "Big 5". My boys went straight for the waffles, bacon and cereal.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/chefmickeys-1.jpg

I went for the southwestern eggs, veggie breakfast lasagna and hash brown casserole. We sampled the PB&J pizza, which looked better than it tasted--the crust was very hard. They actually have more obscure choices than normal ones. Plain, scrambled eggs were hard to find.


Chef Mickey's has the best orange juice--it tastes fresh squeezed and you get free refills. Coffee is good too-a light to medium roast, which I prefer (Starbuck's yuk)


Nobody ever acknowledged his birthday the whole time. I saw the waiters bring cupcakes to some people, but we never received a thing. I was a little disappointed. I gave a little glare to the waitress and shook my head in disappointment, as we were leaving. But we returned to smiles once we boarded the monorail to MK. We got my son a "Birthday button" from City Hall, and he was bombarded all day with cast member well wishers!!

[Illuminations_Rocks]

Great reviews! Sounds like you had a wonderful time so far (with the exception of DHS lacking food!!)

[gatorgirl2]

The second half of my son's birthday request was to eat at the Biergarten in World Showcase's Germany. Ressies were for 7:30 PM. They seated us within five minutes of checking in. I put in a request for a b-day cake. Not going to make the same mistake twice!!


http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/biergartensign.jpg

We sat at a table with a family from England--lots of Brits there that week, which was fun. Their children were precious and we loved chatting with them. I ended up dancing the chicken dance with the little girl.

No need to be concerned about the buffet offerings at Biergarten. Any perosn can find something they like. The spaetzle tastes like mac & cheese. The salad bar is wonderful-loaded with specialty salads as well as lettuce toppings.

(WARNING: TAKING PICS AT BUFFETS PRODUCES STARES..FOOD INSPECTOR???)

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/germanysalads.jpg

For the entrees, there is pork, roasted chicken, fried chicken, sauerbraten (roast beef) and more. They could add a few more veggies for my taste, but the red cabbage is awfully good.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/biergartenplate2.jpg

The oompah band really sets the festive tone. The toasts and dances are family friendly. Lots of smiles at the Biergarten.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/biergartenhot2.jpg

My fave dessert is the almond tort. It's quite simple, but delicious. We had birthday cake that night, so didn't have much room for the desserts.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/biergartendesserts.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/Disneyfood/disneyday4021.jpg

We exited the restaurant to the sights and sounds of Illuminations. Biergarten is consistently good and consistently fun!

[lexmelinda]

I'm enjoying your reviews! Brave woman....taking pictures at the buffet. ;)

So cute that your son wanted to eat at Chef Mickey's for his birthday! My oldest daughter is 18 as well and will be a freshman in college. Where does the time go?

I have a question unrelated to the food however. I noticed you said that you experience some motion sickness but you enjoyed Toy Story Mania. Did the spinning on TSM give you any problems?

[SunnieRN]

I think that's so sweet that your son wanted to go with family tradition and eat at Chef Mickeys for breakfast! How funny that their food is of the more unusual variety (hard to find plain scrambled eggs). But that would be kind of fun in a way also!
I'm so happy you had a great birthday dinner at Biergarten!! Your sons are so handsome!

[gatorgirl2]

I'm enjoying your reviews! Brave woman....taking pictures at the buffet. ;)

So cute that your son wanted to eat at Chef Mickey's for his birthday! My oldest daughter is 18 as well and will be a freshman in college. Where does the time go?

I have a question unrelated to the food however. I noticed you said that you experience some motion sickness but you enjoyed Toy Story Mania. Did the spinning on TSM give you any problems?

I am VERY prone to motion sickness--got a little queezie on Primeval Twirl and EE when it starts to go backwards :sick: I took half a Dramamine pill for Soarin, so it wasn't bad. I'd never attempt Mission Space, Dumbo, Alladin or Teacups..but TSM did nothing to me. It's very smooth and so much fun. The new technology is amazing--much better than Buzz Lightyear. You just travel slowly on a large zigzag track, stopping often to shoot at targets. There's no spinning and very little riding backwards (which REALLY gets me ill) You wear 4-D glasses :3dglasses but they had no effect on me either.

[gatorgirl2]

Aside from reviews on Chefs, Y&Y, RC, CM and Biergarten, I thought I'd add a few honorable mentions on the snack trail...BTW, I polled the boys last night to see what their favorite restaurant was while at WDW:

#1-Rainforest (go figure)
#2-Yak & Yeti
#3-Biergarten
(last was Chefs de France, but I think we might return for lunch and just order a couple of the pizza appetizers--they were exceptional)

My younger son LOVES churros, but says they are only worth it if they are fresh and warm. His faves are in Mexico, probably because they have a faster turnover and are fresher. WDW has to replenish their inventory after Tanner leaves.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/disneyday1025.jpg


The crepes in France are really good. They use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar (which I use) but they are a filling and tasty snack. My boys pass on the nutella and fruit fillings because they say that makes them too rich.


The schoolbread at Norway is worth trying--if you like coconut. It's a very unique pastry with an odd buttery custard filling, topped with icing and coconut. The boys loved it!

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/schoolbread.jpg


On our last day, we ate at Earl of Sandwich at the Marketplace in DTD-they offer hot and cold sandwiches at very reasonable prices. The bread is amazing!!:thumbsup2


For adults, the "Turtle Crawl" at OKW bar is soooo good. We accidentally jumped on the bus to OKW instead of SSR one day, coming back from Blizzard Beach. While waiting for the ferry to SSR, I ordered 1 (OK, and maybe another one for the boat ride) of these tropical sensations at the dockside bar (took awhile for the ferry to arrive :lmao: ). Riding in the ferry, sipping on a Turtle Crawl was a high point of the vacation. If you are ever going to DTD or SSR, from a park, I would recommend catching the wrong resort bus to OKW and grabbing a Turtle Crawl. ;)

Great week for food, but it was nice getting back to our puppy.
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd117/LHUFKD/molly2balls.jpg

[SunnieRN]

Oh my goodness, your "puppy" is so beautiful!!! How old?? Any dog that can hold TWO tennis balls in their mouth is HUGE!!! lol I bet it was so hard to leave the puppy alone!!
What a wonderul trip report! I loved your last entry with so many great tips! I especially like the idea of going to Chefs De France and getting a couple of appetizer pizzas! Sounds perfect!!
Your pictures were great!! Thanks again!

[mom2my3kids]

How old is your puppy? Our golden is 6 months old!!

[gatorgirl2]

"Molly" just turned two, but I still call her "my puppy"!!

[DisneyJo]

Great reviews thanks and your boys are very handsome :)

[HonnyDipp]

Great reviews and pics, thanks for sharing!:thumbsup2

[englishrose47]

Great reviews, thanks!!

Hi Neighbor I'm from Suffolk!!

[englishrose47]

I really liked Le Chef's! I had supper there and also ordered ths shrimp and scallops. I had more than 1 scallop I had 2 !! It came with a spinach flan which was very tasty. For dessert I had the apple crepes which were out of this world. I would order the exact same next time !!

[SunnieRN]

Molly is adorable with that sweet face! I can see why you still call her a "puppy".

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Hi Neighbor I'm from Suffolk!!

Ah, where abouts? My DH is from Mildenhall!

[Minniespal]

Excellent:thumbsup2

[englishrose47]

Ah, where abouts? My DH is from Mildenhall!
I'm from Bury St Edmunds My ex was stationed at Lakenheath!!